PAS BONWe're not joking when we say politics in Louisiana can really be a joke.

COUILLONYeah, so Honey Badger just takes what he wants.

C'EST BON

There are ambitious artists and there is Amy Woodruff. A native of the Mermentau area, Woodruff has made a remarkable celebration of her heritage and a vanishing Cajun burial custom with a 20-hour multi-media art installation spanning All Saints/All Souls days at Istre Cemetery in her native Acadia Parish. The installation at the gravesite of her father, grandparents and great-grandparents included the singing of hymns, storytelling, the lighting of candles and tidying up the graves - the latter practice consistent with Roman Catholic rituals for All Saints Day. Istre Cemetery is the last remaining burial site featuring so-called "grave houses" - wooden mausoleums that mimic traditional Cajun architecture. Only four remain at the cemetery, and Woodruff's marathon and very intimate installation served in part as a fundraiser to support preservation efforts at the National Historic Register site.

PAS BON

We're not joking when we say politics in Louisiana can really be a joke. A pair of elected members of the St. Landry Parish School Board are facing lengthy prison sentences and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for allegedly offering their votes in favor of a candidate for superintendent in exchange for $5,000. U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley announced the indictments against Quincy Richard and John Miller late last month after a federal grand jury issued them. According to the feds, Richard and Miller fell for the oldest trick in the G-man book: they took the bait from superintendent "candidate" who was working with the FBI. The pols are innocent until proven guilty, of course. But Uncle Sam is pretty meticulous about building these cases and documenting the dirty deeds. Each faces two counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

COUILLON

Yeah, so Honey Badger just takes what he wants. The problem is, what he wants is ganja, and now his gridiron dreams have likely gone up in smoke. Tyrann Mathieu, AKA "Honey Badger," that fearless cornerback/return specialist whose 2011 season for LSU was a running highlight reel, was arrested along with former quarterback Jordan Jefferson and two other former Tiger players on marijuana charges in late October. Jefferson was probably headed to a promising career as a soft drink delivery truck driver, so this won't derail his future too much. But Matthieu, who was kicked off the 2012 roster by head coach Les Miles after yet another positive drug test, had undergone rehab and enrolled in classes at LSU with the hope of reviving a once-promising football career. Now it's unlikely that few schools beyond junior colleges will give the 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist a chance at playing again. No, the only shot Honey Badger will get now is a jello shot at the local off-campus bar.

We need to face up to how the &ldquo;new New Orleans,&rdquo; so celebrated by the Mayor and the self-anointed civic elite, in fact amounts to a hostile assault on African-American families and the working poor ...